The Ramanagara police have registered an FIR against 38 Congress leaders and supporters for defying Covid-19 curbs by taking out their Mekedatu foot march on Sunday.
The Congress continued its march on Monday, moving from Bidadi to Kengeri, a distance of 20.5 km.
The FIR named Karnataka Congress D K Shivakumar, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and others under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act and various IPC provisions.
“They are doing politics of hate,” Shivakumar told reporters referring to the BJP government.
“Our struggle for water will continue. Let them file another hundred cases. Why weren’t cases filed against (Shimoga MP) Raghavendra, CM’s political secretary, the Bajrang Dal and others? We had told the CM and DGP about our march. They don’t want us to go ahead with the march because it’s getting the support of people,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the Mekedatu foot march is just political. “There’s no need to give much importance to it,” he said. “People are aware that when the Congress was in power they weren’t even able to prepare a detailed project report. What’s their contribution to Mekedatu,” he asked.
On January 13, the Congress was forced to end its Mekedatu foot march after four days citing the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, the police filed four FIRs against 164 Congress leaders and supporters for defying Covid-19 curbs.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called the padayatra "politically motivated" and questioned the Opposition party's contribution to the project.
Also Read -- Congress resumes Mekedatu padayatra amid fanfare
After temporarily halting it in January due to Covid-19 concerns, the Congress had resumed the padayatra on Sunday, and had covered a distance of 15 km from Ramanagara to Bidadi. On Monday, the foot march covered a distance of 20.5 km to reach Kengeri from Bidadi. The 'padayatra 2.0' with the theme ‘Namma Neeru, Namma Hakku’ (Our water, Our right) will culminate at the National College Ground in Basavanagudi in Bengaluru on March 3, after covering a total distance of 79.8 kilometres. This is the second leg of the march that ended abruptly in Ramanagara on January 13, when the third wave of the Covid-19 had peaked.
The march that had initially begun at Sangama, the confluence of Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers at Kanakapura in Ramanagara district, on January 9, was scheduled to conclude at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru on January 19, after spanning a total distance of nearly 139 km. It was however temporarily halted on January 13, with limited options before the party, amid surging Covid-19 cases, government prohibiting movement of people, and the Karnataka High Court's strong observations regarding violation of curbs.
Several Congress leaders who had attended the march were also infected by coronavirus.
Reacting to Congress's march, Chief Minister Bommai said, "There is no need to give much importance to it (padayatra). Despite knowing all the facts, they are doing padayatra for political gains." "People are aware that during the Congress's regime, they weren't even able to prepare a DPR. What is their contribution to Mekedatu?" he asked while addressing reporters in Hubballi.
Earlier in the day during the march, Siddaramaiah told the media that the padayatra will continue and enter Bengaluru city tomorrow, despite Shivaratri festival. Noting that a large number of people are participating in the padayatra despite the scorching sun, Shivakumar said the response for the march has been really good.
The Mekedatu multi-purpose (drinking and power) project involves building a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district, to which neighbouring Tamil Nadu is opposed. The estimated Rs 9,000-crore project once completed is aimed at ensuring drinking water to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas (4.75 TMC) and it can also generate 400 MW power.
(With PTI inputs)
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